JESSIE L. WILLIAMSON

Photo: Zoe Rossman

Ecology & Evolution of Migration · Ecophysiology · Genomics · High-altitude biology · Host-parasite dynamics · Biogeography · Natural history


I am an integrative ornithologist who combines approaches across disciplines and timescales to study how elevation affects the migration, physiology, and genomic divergence of birds. My research takes place in the U.S. and the South American Andes.


Currently, I am an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Rose Fellow, sponsored by Dr. Irby Lovette and Dr. Maren Vitousek at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates. I completed my Ph.D. with Dr. Chris Witt at the University of New Mexico and Museum of Southwestern Biology, where I am a Research Associate.


In August 2025, I will join the University of Wyoming as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology! I will be recruiting graduate students (MS and PhD) and postdocs in Fall 2024 – stay tuned for more info.